Sales of high-protein
bars continue to climb
as others stall
By Abbey Lewis
alewis@cspnet.com
ased on numbers that indicate the
category enjoyed an 18.8% jump
in average weekly shipments per
store, high-protein bars aren’t just for
the gym anymore.
But in a category full of niches, the
energy/diet/granola bar segment better resembles a snowflake, in that no
two nutrition bars are alike. Within the
alternative-snack segment, the nutrition bar itself can be divided into four
distinct subsegments: high-protein,
energy, healthy snack and weight management/diet. And within those parameters, high-protein is king.
Certainly, the public’s continued
fascination with nutritional and diet
fads account for high-protein bars’
continued hold over segment sales,
B
but once again, as with most trends
this year, the economy also plays a
part, those in the industry say.
“Our bars, and other large protein
bars, are meal replacements. And when
you can find a meal replacement for
$2.99 in this economy, it’s really a good
value,” says Lucia Crater, a fitness junkie
and director of c-store sales for METRx, Ronkonkoma, NY. “They’re a bellyfull. For women, that’s a lot of food!
And for men, it’s really quite filling.”
Indeed, consumers seem to be
drawn to the healthy alternative of a
high-protein bar. And the price point,
though higher than others in the category, doesn’t seem to be scaring them
away. Nielsen counts c-store nutritionbar sales at $209.4 million, up 3.7%
during the 52 weeks ending Dec. 27,
2008. The high-protein-bar segment
(the largest) owns one-third share of
sales, posting the greatest dollar-sales
growth, up 12.3%.
“It’s a healthy alternative to a meal,”
says Jim Powers of Detour, Minden,
Market Share by Nutrition-Bar Type
C-store sales, 52 weeks ending Dec. 27, 2008
The high-protein segment continued its hold on nutrition-bar sales with a 12.3% increase in
c-store dollar volume in 2008, according to Nielsen, while “healthy snack” saw a 2.9% boost.
Energy bars, meanwhile, dipped 2.1%, while dollar sales for products designed around specific
diet plans fell 3.5%.
Dollar share
Sources: The Nielsen Co., U.S. Nutrition
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High-protein
34.1%
“Healthy snack”
28.6%
Energy
28.6%
Diet plans
8.7%
Nutrition Bars by Brand
10
C-store sales, 52 weeks ending Dec. 28, 2008
More than 64% of nutrition-bar dollar sales in 2008 came from the top 10 brands,
according to IRI. While Nestlé’s PowerBar Protein Plus led the pack, share was
spread fairly evenly between the top three brands. Only four of the top 10, however, posted
increases in dollar and unit sales during the second half of the year, all double-digit jumps.
C-store sales
($ millions)
Dollar sales
increase*
PowerBar Protein Plus
Kellogg’s Special K Protein
Clif
PowerBar
PowerBar Harvest
MET-Rx Protein Plus
Snickers Marathon
PowerBar Triple Threat
MET-Rx Big 100 Colossal
MET-Rx Big 100
$19.9
$19.8
$19.2
$18.5
$17.0
$16.1
$14.9
$12.5
$11.0
$10.2
+18.6%
+84.5%
+21.8%
–8.6%
–6.8%
–5.7%
–5.0%
–11.9%
+46.3%
–6.6%
TOTAL (including brands not shown)
$247.9
+3.3%
Brand
Source: Information Resources Inc.
* 26 weeks ending Dec. 28, 2008
Nev. “Protein has gotten a lot of very
favorable press over the past two to
three years. You don’t necessarily have
to get it from red meat, or any other
source that may not be as healthy for
“The unfortunate
part is that probably
half the retailers get
it. The other half is
trying to sell
MoonPies.”
you. It’s a good-for-you type of protein. … I think the consumer is quite
willing to pay about $3 for a 3-ounce
bar that is full of good stuff.”
In CSP’s 2009 Category Management Handbook, Sheila McCusker, vice
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president of strategic insights for
Chicago-based Information Resources
Inc., said the general perception has
been that sales of snack items would
decline in this volatile market. But
through tracking of the economy’s
effect on snack sales, IRI found that it’s
not necessarily the case.
“There’s increased demand
because we’re eating at home more,
we’re taking our lunches to work and
school more, we’re entertaining at
home more, so that all drives up
demand,” she said.
Average shipments of alternative
snacks per store per week by c-store
distributor McLane Co.—which
includes meat snacks, and diet/meal
replacement, energy, protein and
healthy bars—rose 13.4% in 2008.
This could indicate that, among other
things, retailers are paying added
attention to space allocation and
placement of the category.
“I really try to sell the whole category,” Powers says. “If I have a retailer
that is willing to allocate time, attention and space to the category in their
stores, they’re going to sell some bars.
… The unfortunate part is that probably half the retailers get it. The other
half is trying to sell MoonPies.”
Adapting to Demand
This year’s peanut recall threw a
wrench in the plans of protein-bar
manufacturers attempting to broaden
their product assortment in light of the
increasing demand for protein. Detour
took two SKUs off convenience store
shelves, even though “the chances of
someone getting sick and killed from
eating a Detour bar were absolutely
slim to none. But you can’t take that
chance,” Powers says.
Now that they’re back in the swing of
things, manufacturers are indeed ramping up their assortment—big time. Both
Detour and MET-Rx say they now offer
larger-sized bars in convenience stores.
According to Crater, while c-stores
have done a good job of luring female
customers, the majority of the clientele
is still men. To accommodate this consumer, MET-Rx offers its biggest bar in
convenience stores.
“A woman will buy something big
and then she’ll wrap it up and put it
in her purse and eat the rest later,”
Crater says. “But a man is very unlikely
to buy two very small things. Conversely, in food, drug and mass, the
lion’s share of what we sell is smaller
bars at 50 grams because most of the
consumers in food, drug and mass are
female and will be drawn to the
smaller product.”
Alternative-Snack Shipments
Calendar year 2008
Average shipments per store per week grew by double digits in 2008 for many of the snack
segments, including meat snacks, protein bars, trail mix and packaged popcorn.
APSW
Product type
(dollars)
PCYA*
Meat snacks
Diet/meal replacement
Energy
Healthy
Protein
$79.96
$4.75
$7.06
$5.98
$16.34
+11.7%
+2.8%
+2.2%
–0.8%
+18.8%
Total alternative snacks
$139.48
+13.4%
Source: McLane Co.
* Percent change from a year ago
According to Detour’s Powers,
their focus is making the good-foryou bar taste good: “I really think
we’ve got two consumers—one is
highly educated and is buying a bar
because they know the protein is good
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for them and they use it for exercise;
and the other one, who is also very
knowledgeable, [is looking for something] healthy, and they know the bar
tastes good.”
Crater concurs. The flavor and
“This consumer is a
lifestyle consumer …
and they get flavor
fatigue. So new flavors
or textures are really
important.”
health combo is crucial to the niche’s
success. “This consumer is a lifestyle
consumer, in a lot of cases, not in all,
but in many,” she says. “And they get
flavor fatigue. So new flavors or textures
are really important.
“If you keep 80% of the set as the
‘golden oldies,’ the ones that have been
in the set for years, and you mix it with
20% of the new stuff, it really takes care
of this consumer,” Crater continues.
“They can have their ‘Steady Eddie’ but
they can also try something new to
■
relieve that flavor fatigue.”